Allen Family Adventure

Post #200 The End of the Adventure

2009-06-30T12:37:00.003+01:00

The movers come tomorrow to pack up our stuff, including this computer.
So this is the end of the Allen Family Adventure blog.

It has been every imaginable adjective, from wonderful to terrible. From easy to hard. But without question, a life altering experience for our entire family of which I would not change one moment.

AFA Stockholm - Our hotel

2009-06-29T22:47:00.006+01:00

I picked our hotel in Stockholm because it was:
1. Close to the train station where we arrived
2. Close to the subway
3. On the main island
4. Close to the train station where we would connect to the airport when departing
5. And most important, it was inexpensive and clean

Much to our surprise, posted in the lobby, was this sign indicating that the Beatles had stayed here on their first tour.

AFA - Sweden The Vasa

2009-06-29T22:20:00.004+01:00

The Vasa was a great warship the Swedes built in 1628 for the war with Poland. It was to be one of the most powerful ships ever built, with two rows of cannons. It was launched with great ceremony, sailed less than one mile - about 20 minutes - a breeze came along and blew it over - and it sank. Most of the crew, including the captain, survived as there were a bunch of ships close by. Naturally they blamed the captain, the captain blamed the ship builder - and luckily for him, he was already dead. So no one took the blame.
They recovered it in the 60's, restored it to it's present condition and put it in the Vasa Museum.

AFA - Sweden Giraffes

2009-06-29T21:42:00.001+01:00

Aren't these cool? Cranes painted like giraffes.

Christina's Bod & Salong

2009-06-29T21:35:00.002+01:00

I don't know what it is, but with a name like that, it has to be the best in Stockholm!

AFA Zealand - Frederiksborg Palace

2009-06-29T20:03:00.010+01:00

This is known as the 'Versailles of the North', and for good reason. In some ways, it is even better. It is set on three little islands in the middle of a lake and therefore is surrounded by water. The setting is spectacular.
This was originally built by Frederick II, but rebuilt to it's over-the-top grandeur by our favorite Danish king, King Christian IV.

The left is the view from the courtyard out front, the right is from Hillerod, the city it adjoins.

The back yard is not too shabby either, that is a fountain running down those 'steps.'

This is the great hall, pretty darn great!

A couple of miscellaneous rooms, check out the ceiling!!

These windows knocked me out. Look at the little panels surrounding the window. The first shot is a whole window, the second gets a little closer and the third even closer.

Of course he has his own chapel down the hall. Simply breathtaking.

Look at the incredible alter piece.

Interestingly, they had the coats of arms of the various Danish royalty all over the walls. Plus they had this one, former President of the US, Ike Eisenhower.

AFA Zealand - Roskilde Cathedral

2009-06-29T18:49:00.005+01:00

Road trip!! We decided to head outside of Copenhagen to explore Zealand, the island that Copenhagen is on. It is the largest island in Denmark - they don't count Greenland since it is just a territory. The legend is that the goddess Gefion (or something in Danish that sounds like that) went to the king of Sweden and asked for land. He said, "Okay, you can have all the land you can plow in one night." Not to be outdone by a human, she turned her four sons into giant oxen and plowed a massive piece of Sweden that the king had to give her. She made it the island of Zealand. It is said that if you look at a map of Sweden, the largest lake, Vanern, is shaped like Zealand because that's where the land came from.

Here is the famous statue of Gelfion.

The first thing you think about when riding through the countryside is that it is just beautiful, and looks a lot like the US countryside. Very clean. Wide, well kept roads. Not too congested. Very western looking houses and shopping areas. I could live here.

Roskilde was a big deal long ago in Danish history, the city dates back to Viking times. The cathedral was the first built of brick and set the style for much of northern Europe in the following centuries. 38 of the Danish Kings and Queens are buried there, including our favorite, King Christian IV.

Here's a look down the main aisle & notice the picture on the right. See anything weird? Some of the seats face backwards. Don't know why.

Look at this alterpiece. Absolutely amazing workmanship. It folds together like a book.

And then King Christian IV - his tomb room

On the left is King "C" as a pirate. On the right just gives you an idea of the size and majesty of this one wing dedicated to this one King.
Okay, to be completely truthful, there is more to the story than he just liked to get painted as a pirate. He commanded his navy in a decisive battle, and in the battle his ship was hit and he lost his eye in the explosion. He lept up, wrapped a rag around his head, shouted "AARRRR!!!", and won the day. (I made up the "AARRRR")

Check out the columns. They are NOT 3-D. They are really, really well done paintings.

AFA - Copenhagen June 2009 Misc

2009-06-28T15:03:00.008+01:00

There is much we could learn from the Scandinavians. Just like in Amsterdam, there were bicycles everywhere - but few wore helmets. People must be in great shape. This group was passing us on our way back to the hostel.

Check out the 'two seater'. I saw a couple of 'four seaters.'

Here's the famous statue of 'The Little Mermaid' in the harbor.

And yes, there were tons of beautiful, blue-eyed, blond, golden skinned men and women. More in Denmark than Sweden. I took a picture of one as evidence.

AFA - Copenhagen June 2009 Rosenborg Castle

2009-06-28T11:18:00.010+01:00

Built by King Christian IV back in the early 1600's, it is typical of the Danish Renaissance style. The castles we saw in Scandinavia were all made of brick.

Another outrageous, over-the-top royal residence. This was another of those Italian / French influenced places with the unbelievable ceilings.

This is the great hall. Check out the golden lions in the left shot.

The crown jewels, hundreds of years old, used in the most recent coronation. But that was the last one, now the Prime Minister comes to the balcony of the palace and yells, "Long live the King / Queen" and that is sufficient. (no kidding - must be a cost cutting measure, the Danes are very frugal and smart with their money)
On the second row, left picture, the little golden oval boxes hold royal umbilical cords. (Ewwww!!! So much for 'smart with their money'.)
On the second row, right picture you see the elements of the coronation. You have to have the crown (above) plus the scepter and the royal orb. Check out that gigantic pink stone. the largest amethyst in existence at the time. (now it has probably plummeted to say... third - still worth a bazillion kroners)
Note the two necklaces in the center of the case. The upper is a British award given to some Danish royalty - I forget what the award is called ("Order of the Rose" maybe??), but it is the oldest necklace of its kind in existence and the British want it back. Badly. According to the guy at the museum, there was recently some very strong words from England expressing their desire for it.
The lower necklace is the highest honor given in Denmark, it is called .... wait for it ... "The Order of the Elephant" (HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA) No explanation for why it is called that, even looked it up on the internet - especially weird since there are no elephants in Denmark - voluntarily.

King Christian IV was quite a character, multiple wives and mistresses, fathered 26 children. Many, many evidences of him in Copenhagen even 400 years later. Ruled Denmark for 50+ years. We have been to bunches of castles but never seen anything like the pictures below.

This is the same picture from two angles. Look closely, you will see the ridges, in person it looks like an oriental fan that could be collapsed, accordion like. On one side the artist painted the woman, and on the other side the man.

This is King Christian IV in men's clothes on the left, and in drag on the right. (I told you he was quite a character!!) Probably just odd imperial dress.

On the left a magnificent wood and amber chandelier. Amber is very popular, it apparently washes up on the beaches.

On the left the ceiling is done as though they are looking down at you from a balcony. Very effective.

On the left, look at that gold & silver horse & rider. Check out how you can see our own 'Prince John' in the reflection. (okay, not intentional but cool nevertheless) Handsome boy!!

.
That is a writing desk on the left. Wow!

Cathedral of Our Lady (Vor Frue Kirche)

2009-06-27T13:48:00.010+01:00

One of the things you find in all of Rick Steve's tour guide books is "walks." He suggests you start in a particular place in a town, and guides you from place to place, telling you about what you are looking at. It is a wonderful way to learn about the people and culture of a place you are visiting for the first time.
We were on one of his walks in Copenhagen when he guided us to this cathedral. In the guide book it mentioned that "...Mormons would recognize a statue similar to the one on Temple Square ..." Our antennae went up.
As soon as we walked into the sanctuary, we knew that something was different about this place. Bertel Thorvaldsen is the most famous sculptor in Sweden, he has his own museum of his work. But in this cathedral are 13 larger-than-life originals in marble, the 12 apostles and Christ - the original of the sculpture we in the LDS church call 'The Christus.' The feel of the place was peaceful, cool and quiet. The spirit could be felt, knowing that this was a special place.

As soon as I walked in the door I thought, "I know about this place." I remembered it being discussed on two occaissions, one I have excerted below. The other was over lunch with our
Stake President telling me about going to Copenhagen and visiting this church with our patriarch, and how spiritually refreshing and serene the place is.

The cathedral started as a Catholic church, but was confiscated by King Christian III when he converted to Lutheranism and took the whole country with him. It is very simple, but very beautiful.

An excerpt from a talk by Elder Boyd K Packer given in an LDS worldwide leadership conference. (also found in the May 2008 Ensign)

"...In 1976 an area general conference was held in Copenhagen, Denmark. Following the closing session, President Spencer W. Kimball desired to visit the Vor Frue Church, where the Thorvaldsen statues of the Christus and of the Twelve Apostles stand. He had visited there some years earlier and wanted all of us to see it, to go there.

To the front of the church, behind the altar, stands the familiar statue of the Christus with His arms turned forward and somewhat outstretched, the hands showing the imprint of the nails, and the wound in His side very clearly visible.

Along each side stand the statues of the Apostles, Peter at the front to the right and the other Apostles in order.

Most of our group was near the rear of the chapel with the custodian. I stood up front with President Kimball before the statue of Peter with Elder Rex D. Pinegar and Johan Helge Benthin, president of the Copenhagen stake.

In Peter’s hand, depicted in marble, is a set of heavy keys. President Kimball pointed to those keys and explained what they symbolized. Then, in an act I shall never forget, he turned to President Benthin and with unaccustomed firmness pointed his finger at him and said, “I want you to tell everyone in Denmark that I hold the keys! We hold the real keys, and we use them every day.”

I will never forget that declaration, that testimony from the prophet. The influence was spiritually powerful; the impression was physical in its impact.

We walked to the back of the chapel where the rest of the group was standing. Pointing to the statues, President Kimball said to the kind custodian, “These are the dead Apostles.” Pointing to me, he said, “Here we have the living Apostles. Elder Packer is an Apostle. Elder Thomas S. Monson and Elder L. Tom Perry are Apostles, and I am an Apostle. We are the living Apostles.

“You read about the Seventies in the New Testament, and here are two of the living Seventies, Elder Rex D. Pinegar and Elder Robert D. Hales.”

The custodian, who up to that time had shown no emotion, suddenly was in tears.

I felt I had had an experience of a lifetime."

AFA - Copenhagen June 2009 (#1)

2009-06-27T13:22:00.005+01:00

This is a temperature sign that I loved on the square in front of city hall. The thermometer runs up the side of the building. At the top are two golden ladies, one with an umbrella and the other a bicycle. On this particular day, it seems stuck between rain & sun - but the weather was spectacular.

The city hall and square were on Hans Christian Andersen boulevard. He is (obviously) from Copenhagen - famous for writing 'The Ugly Duckling', 'The Little Mermaid', and 'The Emperor's New Clothes' and others I can't think of right now.

Mom's Fallback Career with Archibald

2009-06-27T11:57:00.015+01:00

Okay, we were walking down Stroget street in Copenhagen. Stroget is the street for shopping, sight seeing, people watching and street performers. If you go to Copenhagen, you will eventually end up on Stroget. Everyone does.

So we stop and watch a few performers, then there is this guy in a campaign hat and brown khaki shirt and pants running around like a crazy person, so we stopped to watch.

First the guy introduces himself as Archibald and asks for some help and grabs Brittany. As the family all knows, this produced a terrible conflict in her, because she is a performer and loves attention, but is very, very shy. But we encouraged her, and the guy was not to be dissuaded, so she went. He wanted her to help him with one trick, but she wouldn't, so he just popped her up on his shoulders and walked her around. Brittany was very brave, and we loved it. After it was over, I think she was glad she did it.

Look, no hands!

But then it really, really got funny. Archibald said, "For years, I've been searching for my mother." At that point, Mom later said she knew she was in trouble. Then he said, "At last I have found her!!!" And he grabbed Mom. Well, she was not conflicted at all, she is shy and does NOT want attention. Especially in front of a crowd on Stroget street. That's when I started laughing.

This is him pulling her out and introducing her as 'his mother.'

Then he gave her some spaghetti and had her hold it at arms length while he cut it in half with a whip. At first he just gave her the spaghetti and told her to hold it out - which made Mom pretty nervous - but then he had her wear an oven mitt to protect her hand - then we were all nervous. At this point, I couldn't breathe I was was laughing so hard. It went fine, the spaghetti was cut in half, no one was injured, Mom thought she was done and could relax. But noooo ....

Then he climbed up on his slack wire stand, and proceed to walk on it. At one point, he had Mom hand him unlit torches to juggle and his hat.

He made a mistake and dropped a burning torch. ("Mother, I dropped my torch, could you please?")

The performers take their bow, none the worse for wear. Mom was great, she laughed through the whole thing, despite the fact that she was totally mortified.

He really did have some skills, but without Mom & Brittany, the act was nothing.

Royal Ascot 2009

2009-06-20T22:52:00.013+01:00

The Queen came by again this year. I was in the US most of the week, but Shirleen got out and saw her go by all five days I think. The day I was there she waved at us!!!!! I write lots of interesting stuff in the blog, but the thing everyone comments about is the funny hats on Ladies Day at the Royal Ascot. Here they are...

Ladies Day 2009
(all pictures from the media, we decided not to fight the crowds this year)

There is a huge scandal in the UK government this year about the members of Parliament falsifying expenses. Several members have resigned and there is talk of the Prime Minister resigning. The hat on the left is commentary on the issue.

In the center, Princess Beatrice. On the right, the Princess Royal, Anne.
Anne is the Queen's second child after Charles and oldest daughter. Beatrice was there with her sister Eugenie, the Queen's granddaughters by her third child Andrew and Sarah Ferguson.

The picture on the left is Amanda Holden, actress and one of the judges of Britain's Got Talent along with Mr Simon Cowell. (pictured at the bottom)

And last but not least ... Simon Cowell

Greenwich

2009-06-09T18:56:00.006+01:00

My whole life I have heard of Greenwich Mean Time (GMT or Zulu time) as the basis upon which all of the times in the world are set. US East Coast time, where I lived most of my life, is GMT-5. For example, when it is 10:00 AM here in the UK, it is 5:00 AM there. When you listen to the BBC at the top of the hour you hear those tones, that is signaling Greenwich Mean Time and many people set their clocks by it. So we had to see the place. Unfortunately we were about 48 years late, because the Greenwich Observatory stopped being the place where time was kept in 1961 when they turned it over to science and started relying on the atomic clocks. But we still use the time zones, and the Prime Meridian is a geographical thing, and obviously hasn't moved.

Here it is, the Prime Meridian line. There was a long line to get your picture straddling the line, so we just took the shot beside it - those really aren't Allen legs standing on the line.

The building on the left below is one of the observatory buildings, I thought it was cool looking. The other two shots are of the main building of the Royal Observatory. You see the spire on top of the building with the red ball on it. Every day at 1:00, the ball rises up that pole and drops. The precise instant it hits the bottom is 1:00PM GMT. They told us that boats used to anchor in the harbor below to watch the ball drop and set the ship's clocks.

The view from the Royal Observatory. You can see two domes, they are on top of what started as a palace, then became the Royal Naval College. The building was designed by Christopher Wren one of the most famous architects in London. The domes are identical to the one on St Paul's Cathedral but much smaller. He was practicing prior to building the real one. (not a joke)

They had some wonderful astronomy displays, but this was cool. "The Oldest Thing You Will Ever Touch."

Being the home of GMT and the Observatory, the gift shops sold a variety of time keeping and navigation devices. The navigational device below caught my eye, it is the Cape Hatteras (NC) light house.

Cruising the Thames

2009-06-08T18:38:00.007+01:00

We went to take the Thames river cruise out to Greenwich. The day was nice when we boarded the train to London, but it got increasingly more gray. Once we got in line for the boat, the rain started and all of the passengers huddled in the sheltered area downstairs. The sun came out, we ran upstairs, got excellent (but wet) seats, and had a glorious ride down the river on a sunshine filled day.

If you expand this picture, you will be able to see both the name, and the weather vane. The name is 'The Mayflower' and the weather vane is shaped like the ship - which set sail from very near this spot in 1620.

A little further down stream you pass the Captain Kidd restaurant. Near this point was where they passed judgment on pirates. They would take them down to the sand during low tide and stake them out. They'd leave them long enough for the tide to come in twice, just to be sure. They didn't like pirates.

These are river barges, converted to house boats.

This is a very famous spot, where Charles Dickens set Oliver Twist. This is where Bill Sykes was hung, and Fagan lost his money.

I think this is the most beautiful bridge I have ever seen. In the second picture, you can see it is being painted. On the right side of the piling the blue is darker than on the left side.

Remember what I said about pirates? This is a sea worthy, exact replica of The Golden Hind. Captained by Sir Francis Drake, it was the first English ship to go around the world. This replica also was sailed around the world, so it really is an exact replica. Well the truth is, it was a pirate ship originally called The Pelican. It was just doing it on behalf of the queen. They captured so much Spanish treasure that Queen Elizabeth was able to pay off all of her debts. They changed their name mid-sail to the Golden Hind, some say because they were up to their 'hind' in gold. Supposedly in today's money they capture 10 million pounds in gold. The Queen was so pleased, she came right out to the ship and knighted him on the spot. Obviously, 'piracy' is a matter of perspective.

The white building with the thatched roof is the recreation of Shakespeare's Globe Theater. Thatched roofs are no longer allowed in London since the great fire, but they made an exception for this one.

This is the Millennium Bridge, affectionately known by Londoners as 'the Wobbly Bridge.' As the name suggests, it was opened in June of 2000 and closed two days later when it wobbled so bad they had to close it and add stabilization.

This is one of a set of 12 beautiful columns sitting in the middle of the Thames. They used to support a rail bridge, but the bridge was removed. When they started to removed these columns, they realized doing it would destabilize the bridge next door - so here they sit forever.

Cleopatra's Obelisk. These things were built in Egypt, in pairs. In the case of this one, one of the pair is here on the bank of the Thames, the other is in Central Park.

Look carefully, at the very top of this house, you can see a window just under the roof. That is where Charles Dickens lived when he wrote his novels.

The Cotswolds #1 - Bourton-on-the-water

2009-06-06T23:25:00.004+01:00

The Cotswolds are a very famous, picturesque area of England made up of 13 little villages. The Cotswold area was famous for its wool, the whitest wool in England and that made up its industry and made it a very prosperous area for a long time. It was so significant, that even today, the Speaker of the House of Lords sits on a 'woolsack' to indicate where the medieval wealth of the country came from.

The thing that strikes you now is the architecture. The buildings are all made of 'cotswold stone' a limestone unique to that area that is very heavy in fossils resulting in a very attractive pale tan color.
We visited three of the closest towns to us and this one, Bourton-on-the-Water was my favorite. It is not 'on the water' like you would think, but does have a river running through town in canals and so is called 'the Venice of the Cotswolds.'

The Cotswolds #2 - Stow on the Wold

2009-06-06T23:12:00.005+01:00

Stow-on-the-Wold, don't you love the name? A "wold" is a hill, so it was the city 'Stow' on the hill. You can see wonderful examples of the classic Cotswold fence, built out of the local limestone.

This sign says this is the oldest inn in England, opened in 947AD. The funny thing is, it has been open all that time (plenty of time to practice) but the sign also says it is only the "Eighth Best Inn in England." (another thousand years and maybe you'll be #1)

The Cotswolds #3 - Burford

2009-06-06T22:59:00.003+01:00

Beautiful Burford, a small town of just over 1,000 but very charming as you can tell. The houses with the flowers growing on them were my favorite in the Cotswolds.

Baseball Boy

2009-06-06T18:53:00.004+01:00

John is on the middle school baseball team. We got to see the last games of the season, a triple header.

1. On the way there - the M25 - typical British humor, "Give Peas A Chance"

2. John playing outfield

3. John at bat - he walked this particular time

4. Here he is on first

5. Made it to second!

6. Made it to third!!

7. On the way home!!!

8. Mr Cool scores!!!!

Berry Cottage, 5 Cheapside Road

2009-06-06T18:28:00.005+01:00

Just some shots from around the house on a beautiful British Spring day.

The front garden

The shed in the back yard - actually what the British call a "listed building" meaning it is being preserved as a historical item. So we can't paint it, or put nails in it, but we do store stuff in it. Note the slate shingles. Amazing.

New Hat! (The London Temple)

2009-06-06T18:17:00.003+01:00

When we first went to the temple last year it was interesting to note that the London Temple did not have the traditional statue of the angel Moroni atop the spire. When building the temple, the building authorities felt it would be distracting to the pilots landing their planes in nearby Gatwick airport. The spire was lit when the temple was open, however, it just wasn't as dramatic without the golden statue. That was in 1958.
Since then, the opposite has happened. The pilots used the spire as a guide to the airport (sort of a beacon - get it?). So last Christmas, at the 50th anniversary of the dedication, the temple got it's new golden hat.

Amanda's Prom - May 2009

2009-06-03T20:21:00.006+01:00

Okay, tell the truth. What's your Prom fantasy? To look gooooood! To ride in a limo? To go with the cutest boy there? Amanda says,
'BEEN THERE, DONE THAT!!"

And here's the pictures to prove it.

We've All Been to Stonehenge!

2009-05-18T18:42:00.005+01:00

Rebecca, Christine, and Rebecca

2009-05-17T12:18:00.005+01:00

Our Rebecca brought two friends with her to visit, both from North Carolina. Rebecca Snyder and Christine Ehrisman. As you can see, they have had a great time together. We have enjoyed their company.

On the left, Rebecca A and Christine asleep. On the right, Rebecca S and John laughing after taking their sleeping pictures.

Churchill's War Room

2009-05-17T11:47:00.004+01:00

Winston Churchill and his Cabinet Ministers ran WWII from an underground complex underneath the Treasury buildings near Whitehall in London. It was built to withstand a direct hit from a German bomb, but luckily never actually was hit - they weren't sure if it could withstand a direct hit from one of the big, 500 pounders.

The complex was huge, you only see a small part of it. It housed over 500 people and had a hospital, a shooting range, and dormitories for those working there. Interestingly, on the day of the Japanese surrender, they all packed up their belongings, turned out the lights, and walked away leaving it after working there for 6 years. It is very much the way it was left in 1945. There is also a very modern Churchill museum in the complex, opened a couple of years ago, it is a very interesting look at his life. There is a letter displayed from the King talking about a conversation they had held the previous night. The King says, "you recall where we discussed we wanted to be on D Day? Well on further consideration, I think it makes no sense to risk both the PM and the Sovereign at this dangerous time in history. I am not going, and I ask the same of you." (paraphrased) Pretty amazing, the King and Churchill wanted to lead their troops onto the beach at D Day.

The picture at the top is my favorite. In the actual War Room the walls are covered by maps tracking the progress of the war. Someone stationed there in the bunker drew a cartoon of Hitler right on the map.

This is a lousy shot of the room where the cabinet met.

This is the War Room (that cartoon of Hitler is on the left wall)

This is the room from where the BBC broadcast the news of the war.

This is another of the war rooms. You can see the row of phones, each a different color, each connected to a different head of government somewhere in the world. The ivory covered one on the right end connected to the King of England. This was the home of the first ever "hot line" - a secure phone line connecting Churchill to the Presidents of the US, Roosevelt & Truman. Churchill kept that phone in his lavatory.

The bedrooms of the Churchills. Winston on the left and his wife on the right. It is said he only stayed there three nights during the war.

Benjamin Franklins House in London

2009-05-17T11:31:00.003+01:00

The only surviving house in the world where Ben Franklin lived is - ironically - in London. It really isn't much to see, as you will note by the fact that I included but 5 pictures, two of molding. But what was interesting was the way they presented the house. It was done by an actress representing a real person in Franklin's life in period costume, who worked with audio and video. It was really impressive technology. She would take us into a room and then have "conversations" with the audio - obviously well rehearsed - while pictures or video was displayed on the walls. In the course of the 45 minute presentation you learned a great deal about Franklin. At a point in the "conversation" someone would call from another room, or you'd hear a noise, (all part of this sophisticated audio / video system) and she'd take us to the next room to respond to whatever the sound was. And in that fashion, she took us around the house, teaching us about what Franklin did while living there. Franklin loved London and spend sixteen years there while his family stayed home.

Kew Gardens

2009-05-17T10:57:00.007+01:00

Kew Gardens a gigantic botanical garden. It is the world's largest collection of living plants. 1 in 8 of all of the plants species in the world are represented here. It all houses the world's largest collection of dried herbs in the 'herbarium.' In 2009 it is celebrating its 250th anniversary. They have free walking tours of the grounds and we took one guided by this little old lady, who clearly knew her stuff and was passionate about the park. It was terrific. The park is huge and really has to be experienced to be appreciated. Pictures do not do it justice. We were fortunate to go on a 'mostly' pretty day with many of the flowers in bloom.

The wood carving above was done by a school kid and was cut from trees that were blown down in a big storm a few years ago. It represents the park and show several of the more notable structures.

And it also is the home of the smallest of the 16 royal palaces, Kew Palace. (which we didn't go in- why bother? We have our standards. )

There is a Japanese pagoda. It is 163 feet tall, we are a long way from it taking this picture.

The have a greenhouse called the Waterlily House, that is amazing. The center picture is the pool in the middle of the greenhouse and those giant floating things are all one huge plant! The two pictures of flowers are also part of the same plant. Interestingly, the flowers are bright colors until a bee comes along. The flowers will close on the bee and slowly turn a dark red and cool off. think this lasts all night. Then the flower opens, and the bee, totally covered in pollen by this time loses interest in this dark colored, cooler plant and goes looking for warmer, brighter plants which it pollenates.

They have what they call the 'treetop walkway' which as you can see below, is exactly what it sounds like. It was great walking amoung the tops of the trees.

Below you see pictures of two of the older residents of this park. Remember the park is 250 years old, so there are some old trees. These two are on crutches.

MISCELLANEOUS PIX

In the US you could get arrested for this, in the UK they mean "potted plant."

Windsor Castle Tattoo

2009-05-14T18:58:00.006+01:00

Well, we've now seen two of the UK Tattoo's - first in Edinburgh and now in Windsor. The tattoo is a marching band concert, but this one was a bit different. It had a lot of 'rah rah' encouraging interest in the British Military. Very picturesque, with Windsor castle rising on the hill behind the performing bands.

They actually simulated military maneuvers a couple of times, including a hovercraft, tanks and gunfire. John loved it!

The funniest part was mid-way when Rebecca and her friend Christine were falling asleep. (see the picture at the top with Christine asleep on Becca's shoulder) They brought out some cannons and fired them. The noise was deafening - that woke them up!

Wells Cathedral

2009-05-04T20:56:00.003+01:00

Wells Cathedral is one of the more beautiful cathedrals we've seen, and we've seen a bunch of them. It, like most of them, was started about 1,000 years ago, but this one is in really good condition. Sadly we got there very late and were only allowed a quick look around. But as you can see, the exterior is stunning.

Glastonbury - The Chalice Well

2009-05-04T20:28:00.005+01:00

According to scientists the Chalice Well has been in constant use for about 2,000 years. Despite local droughts, it has never failed. The legend is that Joseph of Arimathea brought the cup in which he had collected some of Christ's blood and threw it in the well, hence the name. The water runs a reddish color and is thought to have healing powers. It was named a World Peace Garden in 2001. It is treated as a place of serenity and visitors are requested to behave accordingly.

This is it, note the interesting pattern on the lid and the 'offerings' around the opening of the well. There were also ribbons tied in the tree branches above the well. We saw one lady adding her own. The well has water in it, the water ran in a stream through the entire garden.

On the left you can see cups available to take a drink. We all tasted it, but didn't want a cup full - but I saw one guy who did. On the right you can see a shallow pool that people take their shoes off and walk in.

Glastonbury - The Abbey

2009-05-04T20:03:00.004+01:00

Okay, you WILL NOT be able to top the stories / legends / myths that surround Glastonbury. In the modern world, Glastonbury is most famous for the annual Glastonbury rock & roll festival, a three day concert of all the top artists around. It is so famous that it is carried live on television everywhere in the UK. But it's the history - or at least the stories about it - that is so remarkable.

Here's some of the stories:
1. The Glastonbury Abbey says it is the oldest, above ground Christian Church in the world.
2. The original church was built by Joseph of Arimathea who was a trader who traveled to this area.
3. Joseph was actually Jesus' uncle, and brought him to the area on one of his trading voyages.
4. Joseph came back to this area after Christ's death, when he arrived in this area he thrust his staff into the ground and a thorn tree sprouted. It is now referred to as the 'Glastonbury Thorn' or the 'Holy Thorn' and only grows around that area.
5. King Arthur and Lady Guinevere are buried here. (yes, THAT King Arthur) Not only that, but they were dug up and reburied at the Abby in the presence of King Edward I.

Salisbury Cathedral

2009-05-04T19:41:00.006+01:00

It is another very famous cathedral - interestingly not really know as 'Salisbury Cathedral' - when you try to find it on the map you discover that it is called the 'Cathedral of St Mary.'
Fact #1 - The spire is 404 feet tall, the tallest in the UK. As you can see, it is huge.
Fact #2 - They have what they describe as "probably the oldest working clock in the world"
Fact #3 - And the most interesting. They have one of the four surviving copies of the original 1215 Magna Carta (I emphasize original, because it was revised a few times), because one of the guys entrusted with distributing the copies after it was signed happened to work for the cathedral. They list the locations of the others, two are in the British National library, one in Lincoln castle. This is the most perfect copy of the original in existence. (no pictures allowed)

Winchester Cathedral

2009-05-04T19:07:00.005+01:00

Another magnificent British cathedral. Winchester Cathedral has a bunch of interesting things about it, but most of all it is huge, and magnificent.
Fact #1 - It is overall, the longest church in Europe.
Fact #2 - It was used as the Vatican in the movie, 'The DiVinci Code'
Fact #3 - There was a #1 pop hit called, "Winchester Cathedral" written about it in 1966. Horrible song - with whistling and a singer singing through a megaphone!
Fact #4 - There was another song done by Crosby, Stills and Nash called 'Cathedral' that is so good, I have it on my iPod right now. (not, unfortunately a major hit)
Fact #5 But the most interesting story happened in the early 1900's. The church, the construction of which was begun in 1079, was built on muddy soil and it was at risk of collapsing. So they had to pump out the water around the foundation and reinforce it, but that was likely to collapse the south and east walls of the cathedral. Enter William Walker.
(copied from Wikipedia)

"In his time, William Walker was the most experienced diver of Siebe Gorman Ltd. Working in water up to a depth of 6 m between 1906-1911, he shored up the Cathedral using more than 25,000 bags of concrete, 115,000 concrete blocks and 900,000 bricks.

Prior to his work, the Cathedral had been in imminent danger of collapse as it slowly sank into the ground, which consisted of peat. To enable bricklayers to build supporting walls, the groundwater level had to be lowered. Normally, the removal of the groundwater would have caused the collapse of the building. So to give temporary support to the foundation walls some 235 pits were dug out along the southern and eastern sides of the building, each about six metres deep. Walker went down and shored up the walls by putting concrete underneath them. He had to work six hours a day in complete darkness as the water contained floating sediment and was impenetrable to light.

After Walker finished his work, the groundwater was pumped out and the concrete Walker had put into place bore the foundation walls. Then conventional bricklayers were able to do their work the usual way and restore the damaged walls."
There are pictures of this guy actually doing this. He would work all week in Winchester, and then cycle 150 miles home for the weekends.

The center picture is a statue of William Walker in Winchester Cathedral - 'The Man Who Saved the Cathedral.'

Jane Austen

2009-05-04T18:53:00.005+01:00

Road trip to Winchester! We stopped in to see Jane Austen's house one the way, and it turned out that she was the theme for the day. After touring her house (where she finished her novels) we went to Winchester, and ended up parking about a 100 yards from the house where she spent her final days in poor health - we walked by it and saw the plaque ("hey, check that out!!") - and then we toured Winchester Cathedral and her tomb was there.

The writing desk where she did her writing. And a bed similar to the one in which she slept.

This is the house in Winchester where she went for medical care when she became ill.

The back garden of Jane's home, we're relaxing on a bench waiting for the family Jane Austen aficionados. And a spectacular thatched roof a couple of houses down from Jane's house. The only flaw was they just thatched the side you could see from the street. (busted!)

Castle Drogo

2009-04-26T22:25:00.004+01:00

Castle Drogo is the last castle to be built in the United Kingdom. It was built between 1910 and 1930, taking about 20 years to build. It was built by a rich guy named Julius Drewe near a city named Drewsteignton (coincidence? I think not!). He decided he wanted to live in a castle, but he didn't want one of those old dusty ones, so he decided to build his own. The house is built entirely of granite, each block had to be specially quarried and laid by two stone masons. (no wonder it took 20 years) Sadly, he only lived one year after it's completion. In the 70's England raised the taxes on the rich into the high 90% range, so they couldn't afford to keep it and gave it to the government to be maintained as a historic building.

Of course 'loo' is the Brit slang for bathroom, so "Andy Loos" made us laugh.

The Eden Project

2009-04-26T22:10:00.005+01:00

The Eden Project is at the southwest tip of England and is a set of 'biomes' - domes designed to simulate the climate of different parts of the world in order to grow and study plants. The focus is understanding the relationship between plants and people.
The largest dome, the jungle environment, is the largest greenhouse in the world and could fit the Tower of London inside. It has a waterfall and a flowing stream. The focus is on the future, studying about recycling and botany. The location is even about recycling, it was a spent China clay mine that they reused. The flowers were beautiful!

The robot is built of all the electronics one person would throw away in a lifetime. (check out the teeth, they are computer mice)

The teaching center is called 'The Core' and in the center of 'The Core' is a round room with 'the seed' in it. It is the largest sculpture in the world made from a single piece of stone. It is a gigantic piece of granite. It represents the beginning of something special at the Eden Project to help the world.

The LaRoques Come and Visit - April 2009

2009-04-19T18:18:00.005+01:00

Barbara, George, Webb and John-Luke decided to come and visit us. They flew to Paris on Sunday (12th), spent three days there and then took the train to London on Wednesday (16th). I met them at St. Pancras station and brought them home to stay with us a few days. They flew home this morning after a whirlwind week of siteseeing in London.

Buckingham Palace on a rainy day - they did the changing of the guard, but pretty boring without the band who do not perform on bad weather days (messes up their hats)

We rode the hop on / hop off open top, double-decker buses around London.

The Windsor Castle trip

Pizza after the castle

Uffington White Horse

2009-04-14T18:21:00.006+01:00

England has a series of giant white figures, most are horses but a few men, in several places around the country carved in chalk on the side of hills. Most of them are 200-300 years old, but a few are much older. The Uffington White Horse is the oldest - and coolest looking - and is estimated to be 3,000 years old - similar in age to Stonehenge.

The interesting thing is, you can't really see it to appreciate it from the ground. The picture at the top of this post is an aerial shot stolen from Wikipedia. So whoever built the thing, did it to be seen from above. Hmmm.

We climbed the hill to get a close look. These are taken standing beside it.

This is the head.

The left picture is a rear leg. The right is a front leg.

This is the tail.

This is looking from the top of the hill down on Amanda and John.

The best shots we could get of the whole thing from the ground.

AFA - Corfe Castle (April 2009)

2009-04-05T20:05:00.009+01:00

Corfe Castle is one of the most impressive castles in all of Europe - except we arrived 400 years late to see it. Sadly it is in ruins. Over and over we've seen these incredible strongholds, placed in perfect defensive positions, castles that withstood many attacks, always, always were betrayed by someone inside. The picture above is taken from the train station in the town below the castle. The town is served by a restored steam locomotive that we rode to Swanage beach.

But nearby in the village, a craftsman painstakingly recreated the castle and surrounding village as it would have looked 400 years ago. So you get a sense of how amazing this thing would have been. An outrageous modeling job. The little church has bells that ring and a choir that sings - or at least that is the way it sounds. The houses have people in their courtyards, and sheep and cattle in their fields. And notice the little trees - they appear (without exhaustive scientific testing) to be real. They must be groomed like bonzai trees.

The center shot is cool because you see the kids in front of the model, and behind the model in the distance on the left you can see some of the actual remaining castle walls. We are probably a mile from the ruins, so you get a sense of how huge the thing was.

Amanda and I played a game of giant checkers. I kicked her butt - however, impartial observers might say that it was a draw because we gave up the game before I actually kicked her butt. (now I will find out if she reads the blog)

AFA - Brownsea Island (the beginning of BSA)

2009-04-05T19:25:00.004+01:00

Back during the first week of August 1907 Lord Baden-Powell was looking for a place to try out his experimental program for young boys. He settled on Brownsea Island, an island owned by a friend of his. There he brought 22 boys and did activities to train them in skills such as camping, woodcraft and lifesaving. The program was a massive success. A year later Scouting For Boys (a re-write of his military manual on outdoor skills) was published and the international Scouting movement took off. A few years later Lady Baden-Powell created the girl version of the organization, and it has been growing since - in 2007, the anniversary year, it was estimated that there are 38 million Scouts world wide.

The island has gone through several owners eventually owned by the British National Trust. In 1963 49 acres - including the original Scout area - were given to the Scouts and was dedicated by Lady Baden-Powell. In August 2007 (one month before we got to the UK - rats!) they celebrate the 100th anniversary of Scouting on the island.

A bust of, and poster about, Lord Baden-Powell on the walk to the Scout center.

John and I standing on the very site of the first Scout Camp.

The Scout Stone - monument commemorating the founding of Scouts

A life sized (?) statue of Lord Baden-Powell on the dock where you catch the ferry to the island. He is actually wearing a pocket knife and Wood Badge beads.

An interesting sight from the ferry. The Haven Hotel is where Marconi lived when he perfected the wireless telegraph and transmitted over water the first time - from this hotel to a receiving point across the harbor.

The Best Looking, Most Wonderful Kids In The World

2009-03-24T20:08:00.005Z

I love you guys!!!!

AFA - St Patrick's Day Weekend in Dublin (aka Baile Átha Cliath)

2009-03-21T10:35:00.016Z

Dublin is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Ireland, not to be confused with that other country, Northern Ireland, which remains a part of the United Kingdom. The name Dublin comes from the combining of the old Irish words "dubh" (meaning black) and "linn" (meaning pool) because the river Liffey and another smaller one met there forming a black pool. Those that didn't know the language combined the two dropping the 'h' and extra 'n' to make the name Dublin. The preferred name in modern Irish is 'Baile Atha Cliath' ('The Settlement of the Ford of the Reed Hurdles') (there's a song title for you) - no clue how one might go about pronouncing it, but that is the name on some of the publc buildings and their license plates as you can see below.

The city is a very successful, modern, commercial centre, and one of the fastest growing areas in Europe. It is a very youth oriented, social, and expensive. It was the 2007 Friendliest City in the World. I'm told it is a destination of choice for a weekend of partying for college age kids.We certainly saw a ton of them there this weekend.
You can see evidence of some of that partying in this picture ... look closely

Touring the city is a stroll through a turbulent history, and unlike most of the rest of the places we have visited, this is very recent. There are statues all over town of Irish revolutionaries, most of whom died there in the last 100 years. One of the most popular tourist attractions is the Kilmainham Gaol (jail) where the leaders were imprisoned. We took that tour, and the cells still have their names on the doors. Interestingly, the very last prisoner there before they closed it was the man that became the first president of the Republic of Ireland in the 1920s, Eamon de Valera.

But the lasting impression of Ireland will be their jolly disposition. Maybe it is the drinking, but they certainly are witty. Some examples ...

This 360 foot tower called "The Millennium Spire", built in 2003, is the world's tallest sculpture. The locals call it either "the Nail in the Pale" or the "Stiletto in the Ghetto." ("pale" refers to when the UK governed the northern part of Ireland down to Dublin, and called it 'the Pale') (plus it rhymed)
Interesting note: They built it in the exact spot where once stood a 100+ foot statue of the British war hero Admiral Nelson, very similar to the one in Trafalgar Square in London. The IRA blew it up in the 60's.

In a town known for drinking, it is hilarious that there would be a "Liver Assurance" company - which happened to be right beside a pub. Dublin is the home of Guinness, a very popular beer brand worldwide and the #1 most popular in Ireland. At one time Guinness was the leading employer in town - the founder, Arthur Guinness, is a local hero, donated much to the city, and his stature is in the garden at St Patrick's cathedral. Tours of the brewery are very popular and include samples, somehow we missed that one. There are about 1,000,000 people in Dublin, and they consume an average of 2,000,000 pints of beer per day. (Hence the need for Liver Assurance.)

I don't know what Oscar Wilde looked like, but I do know what Hugh Grant looks like. They think this is a statue of Oscar Wilde. Dublin has some wonderful statues of people all over town, but this was the coolest.

This skinny doorway leads to the smallest pub in Ireland, it will hold 20 - standing.

This is a statue of Molly McGuire. Also known locally as, 'The Dish with the Fish', or the 'Tart with the Cart.' Molly sold fish during the day and was said to be a 'sparkling conversationalist' at night.

This is the Bank of Ireland When they built the building there was a tax on window glass, so as you can see, they didn't use any. The Irish say when you put your money in the Bank of Ireland, it never sees the light of day again. (get it??)

The Dublin band U2 is one of the most popular bands in the world. The lead singer Bono and guitar player Edge co-own this hotel. The green top floor is a luxury penthouse where they stay when in town. The story goes that Larry Mullen, the drummer, decided to start a band in middle school right here in Dublin, and posted a notice at school for guys to join him. The other three guys showed up and the rest is history.

You'll only appreciate this if you have been to the Vatican Museum, but this is a smaller, but otherwise exact replica, of a statue in the courtyard of the Vatican Museum. Very cool sculpture.

St Patrick
St Patrick is the patron saint of Ireland and is revered for bringing Christianity to Ireland. He was Welsh and sent to Ireland as a missionary. Unlike other missionaries of his time, he didn't accept support from the rich royalty but lived the life of the common man and was accepted because of it. Not a lot is known about him, not even exactly when he lived, but they estimate it as about the 5th century. The two legends that persist about him are that he taught about the Father, Son and Holy Ghost by using the three leaf clover, or shamrock, to make his point - and that he 'drove the snakes out of Ireland'. Scientists suggest that there were never any snakes in Ireland. Historians suggest that when they said 'snakes', they might have meant 'Druids'. (you can see how they might have been confused, they sound so much alike) Actually, the Druids used the serpent as a symbol in their rituals - so maybe that really was it. This is a picture of the St Patrick's cathedral, and the fountain in the garden marking the spot where St Patrick did baptisms. We never got inside to look around, both times we came by they were using it for religious services. Imagine that!

Happily, the teacher's workday at ACS coincided with St Patrick's Day weekend, so we were actually there for the celebration. They say the 4-day celebration in Dublin is the SECOND largest St Paddy's Day celebration in the world - behind only New York City. (more Irish here, more thirsty Irish pretenders there) They had parades, carnivals, fire works, shamrocks everywhere, people wearing green paraphernalia, McDonald's sold green milkshakes (but were sold out when we went), and live music in the streets - if I can get it to upload on our lame internet connection, I have video of one of the bands. I loved getting to hear the band, and seeing the Irish dancing. (look ma, no hands!)

AFA - Vienna Austria (no kangaroos) February 2009

2009-02-21T15:15:00.018Z

(a picture of the hat I bought - clearly Austria has a sense of humor - the "Austria, no kangaroos" logo was very common)

Well, it was mid-term school break, time to hit the road again!! Last year at this time we did the Germany, Switzerland, Holland loop. This time we decided to hit three major cities in Eastern Europe, Vienna, Prague and Budapest. We flew into Vienna, got a family room and used it as home base for the whole 9 day trip. That was nice, it allowed us to just take overnight bags to Prague and Budapest.

Vienna used Euros (1.25 = 1$) and spoke German, Prague used Crowns (20=1$) and spoke Czech, and Budapest used Forints (200=1$) and spoke Hungarian. So including the UK pounds in my pocket, I was carrying four different types of currency at one time or another. You should have seen the look on the faces when I accidentally would try to spend an inappropriate bill. It was very confusing to figure out the best prices.

The people were incredibly friendly, often approaching us and offering directions. The first day there a very large, scruffy young man approached John and I while we were waiting for the girls to get ready. I was very uncomfortable, fearing the worst. He just came up and said in pretty good English, "Can I help you find something?" When I told him we were just waiting for the rest of the family, he proceeded to point out some of the nearby sights and then just walked away.

One characteristic that fit all three was the buildings had style. Even many of the more mundane buildings had little touches of class that made each of the three cities very beautiful and "old world" feeling. To honor that, I am adding a "miscellaneous pictures" section to the bottom of each of these three posts.

Haydn Hotel
Here's where we stayed. Despite the appearance of the scaffolding outside, it was perfect. It was a block from the 'U-Bahn' (subway), in the middle of the biggest shopping district in Vienna (called Mariahilfer strasse), and reasonably priced. A weird coincidence, as you can see there is an English language movie theater next door. Right next to the theater there was also a small, but incredibly ornate on the inside, church who's bells rang incredibly loudly early Sunday mornings. Notice the statue of Haydn in front.

The House of Music
Vienna (called "Wein" locally, pronounced "veen") is known for music, with the Strauss family, Haydn and Brahms being from there. There was a hands on museum about the major composers.
The coolest exhibit was the one pictured below, at which (using Wii-like technology) you have the opportunity to conduct the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra. You pick a song off the menu and hold the baton, and conduct. The orchestra follows your lead, as slow or fast as you conduct. But, if you go too slow or too fast for too long, the orchestra puts down their instruments and yells at you in German. Hilarious!

Trinity Column / Plague Monument
Europe was devastated by the plague 400 years ago, and each of these cities have monuments to those who died and to indicate the gratitude of the survivors. One third of Vienna died.

Ferris Wheel
This is in the Prater, a park donated by the emperor Franz Joseph to the people. It is 100+ years old and over 200 feet tall. Great views from the top. Each of the wooden "cars" are shaped like train cars and will hold about 30.

Charles Church
This is a "votive church", a gift to honor someone. This church is dedicated to a local Bishop (want to guess his name?) that served the people of Vienna during the plague.
The really interesting thing about it is the opportunity to go up to the painted dome while it is being restored. You can see how they distort the pictures in order that they look normal 200 feet below. Note how they look a little squashed in order that they look proportionate from the floor.

St Stephen's Cathedral
It seems that every European city has one of these massive, skyline busting cathedrals and Vienna is no exception. St Stephen's is Austria's national cathedral. It was damaged in the second world war and the roof had to be replaced. For donations, you got your own tile to be placed on the roof. Hence the colorful tiled roof that otherwise makes no sense with the architecture. The view from the tallest tower is incredible, but you earn it by climbing 343 steps!

Two different Hofburg Palaces - Amazing Religious relics
Vienna was the home of the Holy Roman Emperor (HRE), both king and the pope. As such, these guys lived pretty good. But they also had a passion for religious artifacts and the influence to get them.
In the first row you see the crown of the HRE. Interestingly, we saw many portraits during our visits to these cities, and if the picture contained the HRE, he was wearing this same crown.
But even more amazing is their claim about the next items. Pictures were discouraged, but Mom pulled out the cell phone to capture these, hence the lesser quality - but still very interesting shots.
The first picture is of a gold, jewel encrusted cross. The back of the cross had a hidden compartment designed to hold the next two items.
The second picture is the spear that pierced His side on the cross.
The third picture, the cross shaped item, is a metal container. The vertical piece of wood in it is a piece of His cross, complete with a nail hole.
Astounding, if real.

Viennese Chocolate!!!
It would be a catastrophe to miss that. Each of these displays in the chocolate shop window are made of chocolate. As you will see in the last picture, the catastrophe was averted - more than once. The specialty is called 'sachertorte', basically chocolate cake. The Allens don't miss excuses to eat chocolate cake! (nor did we want to hurt any feelings)

Another Palace - Used as the Natural History Museum

Classy public toilets
The story behind these unique, luxurious, toilets is that around 1900 a local entrepreneur wanted to convince the public that he had a chemical concoction to really get bathrooms clean, so he bought two wine cellars and hired Vienna's most famous architect Adolf Loos to make them into public toilets. (get the irony? Adolf Loos built two loos?) They are really nice, and free.

Funny Shots
First, Vienna (being the classy town that it is) had the classiest McDonald's we've ever seen! And second, horse drawn carriages were popular. Looking carefully you can see they even carry a bucket to pick up their 'leavings.' This particular carriage must have been in a rush, because you can see a 'gift' by the back left wheel. They didn't stop.

Miscellaneous buildings that caught our eye ...

AFA - Budapest Hungary February 2009

2009-02-21T15:09:00.011Z

Hungary is an interesting country. Just a 100 years ago, it was very powerful, participating in the rule of the Austro-Hungarian empire. Then they made the mistake of siding with Hitler in WWII and were eventually 'liberated' by the Soviets leaving them a Communist state until 1989. Today Hungary is poor, but our experience in Budapest (boo'-dah-pescht) was great. The people were very friendly and the city is lovely.
Hungary has a few famous sons, Rubik - the inventor of the Rubik's Cube is from here and you see them on sale in the souvenir shops. Edward Teller (A-Bomb), John Von Neuman (computers) and the founder of Intel, Andy Grove are Hungarian too.
Budapest is really two cities, "Buda" and (you guessed it) "Pest" divided by the Danube river. The word 'pest' goes back to a Slavic word for "oven" and is named that because the whole area sits on thermal springs. One of the most popular local activities is soaking in the thermal baths, and they have huge facilities for doing it. We didn't have a lot of time, and were a little squeamish about the idea, so we passed on that. The guide book describes "fat men in speedos and old women in bikinis." We weren't up for that.

The Cityscape

Great Synagogue

Budapest has a large Jewish population, and in Hungary over 600,000 Jews were exterminated during the war after Hitler took over the country. This Synagogue is the second largest in the world, after the one in New York. After WWII it was refurbished with finanacial support from Tony Curtis, he and his daughter Jamie Lee are supporters today.

Matthias church
An incredible looking church that was so dark inside, it was difficult to get good shots. But take a look at the walls - unlike any church we have seen. You can see the outside is being refurbished.

Statue of St Istvan
He was the first Christian king and had an interesting "missionary style." If you would not convert to Christianity, he would cut off you head. To make his point he quartered his uninterested uncle and sent each quarter on tour as a missionary aid. It worked.

Danube at night

We took a boat ride down the Danube to see the buildings lit up. It was beautiful, poorly captured in these shots because we were inside the boat (very cold outside). As you can see, Brittany was more interested in the Game Boy - but the rest of us enjoyed it.

The Fisherman's Bastion

The seven spires represent the seven Magyar (mud-jar) tribes. The Magyar settled Hungary a 1000 years ago. The cones represent the style of tent they used.
The old fisherman's market was just below this point, so the fishermen had responsibility for guarding this corner of the castle, hence the name.

Parliament
Interesting story ... this building was built to house the government of Eastern Europe, the Austro-Hungarian empire. But today, it only houses the government of Hungary, so only uses about 1/8 of the building. It is designed after the British House of Parliament, all the way to being positioned on the river, just like the one in London.

The Chain Bridge (aka Szechenyi Lanchid)
150 years ago the only connection between Buda and Pest across the Danube were pontoon barges that had to be removed in the winter. In good weather they still could cross by ferry, in bad weather they crossed on the ice of the frozen river. It was not uncommon to get stuck on one side or the other waiting for the river to re-thaw. That happened to Count Szechenyi, causing him to miss his father's funeral. That inspired his commissioning the city's first bridge. Note the lions guarding the entrance.

Hero's Square / Millennium Monument
The Magyar tribes moved into the area that became Hungary in 896. A thousand years later, 1896, the country threw a gigantic celebration of its anniversary. For the celebration it built many of its most famous monuments, including this monument, the Parliament building, the Opera House, Matthias Church (rebuilt), St Istvan's Basilica, and the Fisherman's Bastion.
The top of the 118 foot tall pillar is the angel Gabriel offering the crown to St Istvan who would then convert the country to Christiandom. Around the base, on horseback, are the most famous Hungarians in history. It is cool, it looks like they are riding together and the horses are walking around the pillar.

St Istvan's Cathedral
Very interesting. Although this is a Christian church, the statue over the alter is St Istvan (Stephen). The most interesting (grisly?) thing about the interior is they have his right hand ("the holy right hand") in a jeweled box in a little chapel. You had to pay extra to see it, so we passed, but I got a picture of the sign that shows what it looks like. Ewww!

Miscellaneous buildings ...

AFA - Prague (Praha) Czech Republic February 2009

2009-02-21T14:58:00.008Z

We spent two days in Prague (locals say "Praha") and loved it. Prague, like Budapest, was Communist just 20 some years ago but, unlike Budapest, did not get destroyed during the wars. In Budapest, most of the sights come with an asterisk ("*") telling you that it was rebuilt after the war. This was toward the end of the week and we were running low on energy, so we didn't see as much as we would have liked. This would be a place to come back to.

The Toy / Barbie Museum
Being a family of five daughters and one Mom - all who grew up with Barbie, we had to stop and see the collection. They had one whole floor dedicated to Barbie and her friends. Mom found the barbies she had as a girl, as did Amanda and Brittany. John also got to pose with a couple favorite Star Wars statues.

The Changing of the Guard at Prague Castle
It was so cold the band didn't come outside, they just played with their horns sticking out of the windows of the building behind them. The rightmost picture was to be with two of the friendly guards, but at the last second, two very pretty female police-persons walked up and distracted the guy on the right.

Loretta Church
This is the holiest place in the Czech Republic. Inside the walls they have a little chapel in the courtyard they call 'Santa Casa' also known as 'Little Bethlehem.' This was the traditional departure point for religious pilgrims. Embedded in the left hand wall of the little chapel is what they claim is a beam from Mary's house. No pictures were allowed. There is also a chapel there that is very beautiful. In it is a statue to "St Bearded Woman" the patron saint of unhappy marriages. The story is that her parents promised her to an unbeliever that she did not want to marry. She prayed for help and grew a beard. The potential groom changed his mind, but her Dad was unhappy about it and crucified her.

The Dancing House
Designed by famous designer Frank Gehry (Derek may know him from Seattle's Experience Music Project building). Amanda has actually studied this guy in school. American architecture buffs have nicknamed it "Fred and Ginger." (after the famous US dancers Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers) On the left side is "Ginger" with a dress, on the right is "Fred" with the round head. The top floor is a restaurant, it wasn't clear what the rest of the building was.

The Effiel Tower - East (Petrin Tower)
They built a 1/5 scale version of the real tower two years after the orginal was built for some 1891 exibition. They placed it on the hill so that the top of the Petrin tower is exactly the same height as the top of the Effiel tower in Paris.

St Vitus Cathedral
This church is inside the Prague Castle walls, and is the dominant sight. It is huge!! Inside there is a little chapel to King Wenceslas. (of the song)

The Charles Bridge
Maybe the most identifiable landmark of the city, this bridge is amazing. About every 100 feet or so is a sculpture on either side of the bridge. Most of the sculptures have stories, the guy with the five stars around his head was a guy named John of Nepomuk, a saint of the Czech people. He was a priest that the queen confessed her sins to. The king wanted to know, but he refused despite being tortured. He was eventually pitched off the bridge. When he hit the water, five star appeared. (awwwww) It was beautiful at dusk, but the pictures came out very dark.

Miscellaneous Pictures of the city ...

Snow!! 2 Feb 2009

2009-02-02T18:54:00.006Z

Supposedly the most snow in 20 years! Something like 5 or 6 inches.

UPDATE: It snowed again 3 Feb 2009 (several light snow showers)
UPDATE: It snowed again the evening of 4 Feb 2009 (a couple of inches)
UPDATE: And again the following day (another couple of inches)
But all together it really didn't amount to much because it would melt as it fell.

Neighborhood Shots - Misc

2009-02-02T18:20:00.006Z

At Christmas we realized that we don't really have much time left here, so thought about what we want to be sure to do before we move back home.

One of those things was to take some shots of the cool things here in our neighborhood to remember them.

We live in a very fancy ("posh as we say") neighborhood. We were told, "the posh houses have names (ours is called 'The Berry Cottage') and don't post the house numbers." All well and good, but no one could find our house. So we put up some numbers.

We saw a wedding procession. In the US, we trash the car. Here's they decorate very neatly, and all of the cars in the procession were decorated the same. You have to look close, but you can see the streamers coming to a point on the front of the expensive looking car.

The first establishment you pass on the High Street is a Jaguar dealership. I don't think I can recall seeing a car dealer that sells exclusively Jaguars.

We took a ride over to Windsor and caught these shots - "Windsor Great Perk" is a play on the 'Windsor Great Park' (covered in another post), the amazing Royal park.

Neighborhood Shots - Tittenhurst

2009-02-02T18:04:00.005Z

Tittenhurst Park is about a mile from our house. It is huge, 72 acres, but the only evidence is the brick wall that goes on for quite a way. You can't really see anything but the big brick wall from the street, but it is a very famous place.

This is where John Lennon and Yoko Ono lived for two years starting in 1969. John built a recording studio there and recorded "Imagine." The last photo shoot of the Beatles took place there and the pictures were used as the front and back cover shots for the 'Hey Jude' album.

Ringo Starr then bought it from them and lived there until the late 1980's.

Ringo sold it to the Sheik of Abu Dhabi (say it fast three times and try not to laugh)/ President of the UAE. He flies in one week a year to attend the Royal Ascot horse races. He flies into Heathrow on a private jet, takes a helicopter to his house, and then another one to the races - flying right over our house. He paid 30 million pounds for the place and only lives there one week a year!!

Neighborhood Shots - The Royal Holloway

2009-02-02T17:39:00.004Z

The Royal Holloway is a university, just a few miles from our house. It is just down the street from the kids' school.
It was founded in 1886 and officially opened by Queen (tiny crown) Victoria. It has a little over 7,000 students. There are 120 different countries represented in the student population. It is affiliated with UCLA, NYU, and Berkeley in the states. The building is stunning, and is referred to as "the summit of high Victorian design."
The story goes that Thomas Holloway started a debate in The Founder, a local paper, on "How to best spend a quarter of a million or so." His wife said, "How about a womens' college?" And so it originally was.

Christmas 2008 - Girls Night Out in Raleigh

2009-02-02T17:36:00.002Z

My bevy of beauties with their blooming onion.

Le Maison De Monsieur Mickey Mouse

2008-12-02T20:05:00.012Z

We chaperoned the Boy Scout troop's trip to Disney Paris. (hey, if you've got to go with the Scouts, it sure beat sleeping outdoors!) We took the Eurostar train and got there in roughly 4 hours. We had one train change in Lille after the channel crossing.
One nice thing to count on is that Disney is Disney, despite being in Paris. Disney parks are always clean, organized, and very well done. The shows were half French / half English (both songs and speech) as were the instructions for the rides (both spoken and signs). But other than that, it was very much like Orlando. All of the employees spoke enough English so that language was never a problem. The most significant difference was the size. This park is comparatively small, most likely due to the property prices in the suburbs of Paris . There are only two sections, Disney Studios and the Magic Kingdom and they are right beside each other. You walk out of one and right into the other.
But they have Space Mountain (version 2 - they launch you from a cannon!), the Tower of Terror, Aerosmith's Rock & Roll Roller Coaster, It's a Small World, Buzz Lightyear, Aladdin, Pirates of the Caribbean, Big Thunder Mountain, the Swiss Family Robinson tree house, shows, shops, music, and the parades, and everything else that makes Disney Land and Disney World so magical. I can't think of anything that was missing. As you can see that the top of this post, a cool difference is the castle. It is definitely different and I think I might like this one even better.

I have often heard the joke that they had to stop having fireworks displays at Disney Paris because every time they did, the French Army surrendered. Well guess what? The did not have the end of day fireworks display like they do in Florida. Hmmm.

Miscellaneous Disney sights to give you the feel ... if you've been, it will look quite familiar.

Shots of Brittany, Amanda and John -

John (I wonder if he will still love that hat 5 years from now? Sven wore the same hat, as did other boys)with his Scout buddy Sven, and Amanda made friends with one of the Scout's big sisters, Ellen. (Amanda and Ellen are in the flying cars, Amanda above, Ellen below)

We stayed in the park, the first time we've done that. Very nice, you get up and eat the free breakfast at the hotel, then walk to the park. It was the Cheyenne Hotel, a western theme as you might have guessed. We stayed in the Annie Oakley building which was kind of cool since we recently watched the movie 'Annie Get Your Gun'

Walking home from the park at night we passed an outdoor ice skating rink at one of the Disney hotels. Did I mention it was COLD?!!!

And just for Becca ...

AFA - Greece November 2008

2008-11-16T10:06:00.017Z

Greece was great, we really liked it. The climate was very mild, even in November. The beaches were nice, the prices were the best we've found in Europe, and the history was amazing.
We arrived late Thursday, did our sightseeing on Friday, had a lazy day Saturday - that's when we realized that the museums close around 3:00 for the day - and then on Sunday, I ran the marathon and the family went to the museum.
So basically, we did one day of real sightseeing - and these are the pix.

This is a modern government building. It just so happened that the bus dropped us nearby, so I had to take a picture. It is beautiful. We think we may have witnessed a terrorist attack on the building next door, but could not quite figure it out. The bad guys were running out of the building just as our bus drove past. Shirleen and the kids saw the bad guys, I didn't. I assumed it was a movie being filmed. But we all saw the riot police show up a little while later, so something definitely went on. It was confusing and since our Greek was zero, we couldn't ask.

This is the Temple of Zeus. These columns are about 50 feet tall each. Imagine the size of the thing back when it was whole! In one of the shots you can see a column on the ground and can see how they assembled them by stacking the sections. In the third picture (taken from the Acropolis) you can see the building's footprint and imagine the size.

Hadrian's Arch, honoring the Roman Emperor. In the right picture, looking through the arch, you can see the Acropolis rising in the background. The Acropolis is the whole hill, which dominates the city. On it are several structures.

This is the lower wall of the Acropolis, behind the wall is a theater made of marble. There was a second theater on the Acropolis, but it is currently in ruins. Basically just some stones laying around.

This is the entrance to the top of the Acropolis which I believe is called the temple of Athena Nike (goddess of running shoes). You get a good look at a column and can see how the pieces fit together - sample pieces in the right picture. It is undergoing a major restoration right now.

This is the Erechtheion, dedicated to Athena (the goddess of the city) and Poseidon, the god of the sea. The picture on the right is a close up of the female statues on 'The Virgin Porch.'

A view from the top, you can see a couple of the other hills in Athens in the left picture. The right picture is looking down on Hadrian's Arch, The Temple of Zeus and in the background you can see the Panathinaikon stadium (the stadium built for the first modern Olympics in 1896) where the marathon ended.

The biggest building on the Acropolis, the Parthenon. It was originally built as a temple to Athena, but has also been rededicated as a temple to the Virgin Mary, and later a Mosque.

Looking down from the Acropolis on the Ancient Agora, the ancient marketplace in Athens. In the left picture you see the only building of its kind in Greece that is still standing. One of the Roman Emperors decreed that all the Greek temples should be destroyed, so they are all in ruins. In the center is a reconstruction of the largest building in the Agora, the money was donated by John D Rockefeller. The right picture is a Greek Orthodox church beside the Agora.

These fuzzy shots are actually taken from our table at the restaurant where we ate dinner. (delicious!) A spectacular view of the Acropolis which as you can see, they light up at night.

As much as we loved Athens, John and Brittany's favorite thing was the playground across the street from the hotel.

In summary, we came to Athens primarily for the race and secondarily for the sights. As it turned out, as a family, we like Greece as much as anywhere we've been and would like to come back. The Greek islands are supposed to be amazing.

Athens Classic Marathon

2008-11-10T10:03:00.044Z

The 'legend' of the origin of the marathon starts with the great Greek battle of Marathon, at which time the Greeks defeated the Persians for the first time, after living in fear of them. That occurred in 490 BC and is considered to be one of the most important battles in history, because it resulted in Greek independence, and the next 200 years was when Greece became a great nation, and its influence began to spread throughout the world. It also is considered the first battle for democracy because the Greeks were then able to establish their own government, the first democracy. To win that battle the Greeks overcame a large numerical disadvantage due to a clever tactical move on their part, and a strategic mistake on the part of the Persians. The Persians were so comfortable in their significant numerical advantage that they sent part of their Army by sea to attack Athens.
That part is true, the 'legend' is that once the Persians were defeated, the Athenian general dispatched a soldier named Pheidippides (fi-DIP-uh-dees) to run from the battlefield to Athens to report the victory. The distance was about 25 miles. When he arrived, he shouted "We were victorious" and collapsed and died. That legend is so popular that after the race, on two separate occasions, Greek men who saw me wearing the medal, told me the story. ("Was that cool or what? Told the legend by Greeks!!") Also funny is that when they saw the medal they asked, "Did you win?"
The real story is that Pheidippides was dispatched to ask Sparta for help against the Persians BEFORE the battle. (And that ended his part of the story) (and his name may have been Philippides, but what's a consonant or two among friends?)
Later, after the victory, the entire Athenian army ran from the battlefield at Marathon to Athens (25 miles) fearing the city would be attacked by that Persian group that had been sent from the battlefield. When they got there they found that the Persians, having heard of their army's defeat, sailed away. The two stories got confused, resulting in the legend of Pheidippides' run.
In 1896, when the first modern Olympic games were being organized, the organizers wanted a signature event that tied back to Greek history. They loved the legend of Pheidippides' run and decided that would be the event. So they created the race called the 'marathon' with it beginning in Marathon and ending at the Panathinaikon Stadium in Athens. The original race was the same (approximate) 25 miles the soldiers ran. A couple of Olympics later, when held in London in 1906 (not sure why it happened 10 years later instead of 8 or 12), they decided to start the race at Queen Victoria's statue outside the gates of Windsor Castle (everyone who has been here has seen this statue - big lady, small crown) and end it at the Olympic stadium at Shepard's Bush in London. When the runners arrived at the stadium, they ran one lap ending in front of the Royal Box. That was 26.2 miles, and was later deemed the official distance for all marathons.

The announcer at our race said, "World wide there are over 15,000 marathons held each year including between 4 & 5 million runners. And it all started right here ..."

(goose bump moment)

At about 7:00 AM we (15,000 runners from 50 countries) arrived at Panathinaikon Stadium (the same stadium that hosted those first Olympics) for our 30 minute bus ride to Marathon. The sun was just peeking over the top of the stadium so the pictures are dark. The stadium is made entirely of marble and seats 60,000. They say it is the only marble stadium in the world. You can see the Olympic rings in one of the 'too dark' pictures.

The starting line in Marathon was a mixture of excitement and ceremony. There was a small brass band, dignitaries, a helicopter hovering overhead filming us for the news, and a mass of balloons being released at of the start of the race. The whole 4-day event starts with a torch run, to light the flame at the beginning of the race. You can see the flame in the picture where I'm wearing a plastic bag to keep warm. (wearing the shirt Christina made me) They handed the plastic bags out at the clothing drop-off. The wind was pretty chilly. In the first few hundred meters of the race there were thousands of shredded plastic bags where everyone tore them off and dropped them.

There was a small track next to the starting line where people warmed up. (not me, I needed all the energy I had, and some I didn't)

Along side the track at the start was the marker where the 1st ever marathon race started. You can see it says '40' on it for 40 kilometers, which is about 25 miles, the original approximate distance. (measurements were not exact back then)

Sights During the Race
All the kids wanted to high five the runners. And you can see we did.

She is dressed like a Greek Goddess, he like a Greek soldier. (It's a body stocking, she isn't naked under that toga looking thing)

This guy in the picture below, sitting in the chair at the end of the table, is dressed as Pheidippides. He ran in armor the entire route. He finished with a burst of speed and got to the finish line a few minutes ahead of me. He stopped for medical aid several times but never dropped his spear, shield, helmet or armor. He was one of several I saw losing their lunch along the way.

(check out the shoes on the ceremonial guard)

The race itself was great, until the second half. The first 11 miles were warm and moderately flat. Then things got out of control and it started uphill, almost constantly for the next 9 miles. The thing is, there are mountains between Marathon and Athens!!!! (no wonder he died) We only ran through the foothills, but even so, the hill just did not stop. Imagine running uphill for 2 hours! People started dropping out big time. There was a bus following the runners, picking up the drop-outs and taking them either for medical aid or to the stadium, or both. I must admit at one time I felt sick myself, but walked until I got over it. The last six miles was downhill, but by that time you'd just finished 9 miles uphill so the downhill was nearly as miserable.

Results
My first half was 2:28, the same as the half marathon I ran last year. I am very proud of that first half. Unfortunately the second half was 3 1/2, so I ended up at 6:01. (I'm calling it "5 and change") But I finished! I think the half marathon is more my distance for future races. But I finished!

From the Athens Classic Marathon Web Site (the day after the race)
The Athens Classic Marathon is one of the toughest courses in the world, but Paul Lekuraa, a Kenyan from the Masai Mara shrugged off fatigue, a splitting headache, a late arrival prior to the race, and the close attentions of colleague Julius Kiprotich, to break the race record by nearly two minutes this morning. In an enthralling finish in the Panathenaiko, the marble stadium built for the 1896 Olympics, Lekuraa, a 35-year-old in only his second marathon, out-sprinted his rival, to win in 2:12:42, with Kiprotich given the same time...
“I only arrived yesterday (Saturday 8),” said Lekuraa, “because of a mix-up with my visa date, and I wasn’t feeling well, I had a bad headache most of the race. I thought of dropping out at one point, but I just waited ‘til I felt comfortable. In the end, I felt relaxed, and thought I could win with a sprint.”
His discomfort wasn’t evident during the early stages of the race, which includes the toughest mid-race climb – it’s uphill from 10k to past 31k - in any major marathon. But given the history of the race, from Marathon to Athens, ie the original marathon course, and the provenance of the race’s name, the runners just have to get on with it.

2:12:42 in his second marathon and he wasn't feeling well!!!!!
(Did I mention that I finished??)

The Royal Landscape - October 4, 2008

2008-10-04T19:25:00.020+01:00

Also known as the 'Windsor Great Park' or locally as just the "Great Park" is the Queen's garden. It is absolutely beautiful. William the Conqueror first claimed the area around 1100 when he built what was to be the beginning of a growing royal residence at Windsor that is still in use today, 900 years later. At the time, it wasn't actually called a park, it was gigantic and reserved for royal hunting for food. Now days it is 5,000 beautiful acres (still pretty big) and is open to the public. There is a lake, streams, manicured gardens, beautiful bridges, a totem pole, an Egyptian obelisk, and some Roman ruins that I mentioned in an earlier post a few months ago.

We are quite fortunate to have an entrance close to us. Our kid's school is across the street from it. I get to run here three times a week.

To get to the Great Park, we simply walk out the front door, take a right and then the first right, and the entrance is 1/2 mile down Watersplash lane. When the Queen comes to Ascot for the races, this is how she get here. The park runs right up to her door (as you will see).
It is a great place to run, walk, bike, ride horses and ride carriages, as many, many people have discovered long before I did.

On my run today, I took pictures. Here's a quick tour of what I saw today ...

The first picture is the end of Watersplash lane, looking to the left you see the entrance to the Great Park. Looking directly across the road, you see that we are six miles from Windsor. It is an automatic gate, for those with the proper electronic tag. But there's just a button to get out. As you can see, one of the horseback riders pushed the button to open the gate.

After about a half mile run, you get to the more formal gate with the house of one of the Park Rangers. There's little traffic coming in this gate, I occasionally see a car or two, and some walkers and joggers. It really gets busy further along. The first picture below is the first time you see Windsor on the run. If you click on the shot you can see both the castle, the city, and the "Windsor Wheel" - the ferris wheel.

(you can see it's called the "Prince Consort's House)

The next gate a mile or so farther in the park is a deer gate. As you will see, the Queen likes her deer. There are a ton of them.

About a half mile past this gate, you get to a left turn which is called "The Long Walk." It runs right up to the castle and is constantly full of people doing any and every activity allowed. I've seen races for both full sized and shetland pony sized horses and carriage. The carriage riders and horses all wear matching outfits. Cool! A week or two ago I ran right into the middle of a women's half marathon. And every week I see walkers, biker riders, horseback riders, and many joggers. This is the most popular part of the park because of the deer. At the top of the hill facing the Long Walk is a statue of George III on horseback. Looking the other way you see the Long Walk leading right up to Windsor castle.

And then there are the deer, hundreds of them, oh deer, oh deer ... There's just something about deer that makes you feel good. I know they can get scary if threatened, but they are graceful and in this particular case, not really afraid of humans because this has been a sanctuary for them for many generations of deer.

Then about a mile and a half or so down the Long Walk, you get to Windsor castle.
The first shot is taken about half way down the Long Walk, the next is the gate house. You can see that the right side of the building is designed to match the exterior of Windsor Castle but the left side just looks like a regular building.

Then there is the gate itself. There are four guys in tuxedos having their picture taken for some reason. I'm guessing a wedding. I have seen a bride and groom having their picture taken there too. The picture on the left are 'bollards', they raise and lower as needed to either keep out the 'nasties' or to let the royals drive out.

The first picture is the view from the gate, as you can see I am pretty close. The second is zoomed in to see the royal guard in his booth, in all his red jacketed, fuzzy hatted, splendor.

From the gate, I turned around and ran back up the Long Walk. Another three miles along and you get to the royal Polo fields. Prince Albert loved his horses, polo and the park, his statue is beside the practice field. He was Queen Victoria's husband and she loved him dearly. When he passed away she was so saddened that she hardly came out in public ever again. There are at least three polo fields. The one in the near ground is a practice field on which I've seen them playing on many Saturdays. In the background is the grandstand where the formal matches are held. And then off to the left of the grandstand is another practice field.

Then there are acres and acres of beautiful scenery, reminding you that the whole, giant thing is a garden.

And then you get to the opposite end of the road I have chosen (there are many), this is one of the gates coming in from the Windsor side. The pink gate houses are sort of a standard, you see them at most of the entrances. All shaped and painted the same. When I see them, I think of a crown. The whole run to this gate, including the Long Walk, is 10 1/2 miles.

Now I have to go back ...

The Royal Mail

2008-09-01T10:48:00.006+01:00

Our mail man's "truck" - note it says "Royal Mail" on both the saddle bag and the slanted cross bar & is painted the Royal Mail color. It may be hard to read but the model of the bike (on the horizontal bar just above the pedals) is called a "Mailstar." He's a nice guy, and got a good laugh out of my taking a picture of his 'noble steed.'

More Interesting Brit expressions

2008-08-29T18:30:00.007+01:00

Bless their cotton socks - "Those guys, bless their cotton socks, are a pain in the neck!"
Wobbler - "Whoops, that was a bit of a wobbler". (in the US we might refer to that as a 'brain dead moment', or a 'blond moment')
Good Shout - "Good shout, I didn't think of that one!" (in the US we might say, "good thinking")
Used in anger - "At what point will the system be used in anger?" (when will it go into production, or when will it be used for real)
Get my coat - "Okay, well I'm getting my coat" - (I'm done, let's call it a day)
Skip - A skip is a 'dumpster' in the US, often the kind used on construction sites for debris.
Slip - Not what you are thinking guys ... A slip road is an exit off of a highway.
Give it a think - "I'll give it a think." Let me think about that.
Dog's Dinner - "They've made a dog's dinner of that." - They've made a mess of that. (a dog's dinner starts out in a bowl, ends up all over the place)
Nutter - "You are a complete nutter!" - You are nuts!

British Beach Trip - Bournmouth in August

2008-08-27T21:15:00.005+01:00

In all fairness, I'm told we've had an atypical summer. But it was cloudy and gray, windy, cool and with just a hint of mist in the air. Altogether, not beach weather.
But the beach looks much like beaches everywhere ... sand, a pier, and lots of tourist stuff. Shirleen remarked that it looked a lot like a beach we went to in France, and she was right. One interesting note, Mary Shelly - author of Frankenstein - is buried there.

One thing interesting to me is the number of changing cabins, called 'chalets' they have available. They line the beach in both directions.

And last but not least, I learned a new word.

Nope, not what you are thinking, it's a seawall to prevent erosion.

AFA York

2008-08-27T20:14:00.006+01:00

Well, since I have been able to take internal pictures in very few cathedrals, I made up for it in the amazing York Minster Cathedral.
York is a great town, a major tourist destination, and a lot of fun. It was founded by the Romans about 2,000 years ago. Later it was taken over by Vikings and called Jorvik. That evolved to the simple, 'York.' York is in Yorkshire county, just like Glouscester is in Gloucestershire county and our hometown Ascot is in ... you guessed it ... Berkshire county.
The city still has the walls that used to protect it, they are in good condition and you can walk them. When driving into the heart of town, you actually drive through a tunnel in the walls.

This is the exterior of the cathedral. Absolutely huge.

Assorted pictures inside the cathedral ...

These are stone carvings of all of the Kings and Queens of England from William the Conqueror to Henry VI . The carving is amazing.

The east wing of the cathedral has the largest expanse of medieval stained glass window in the world. Below is what we could see of it ...

(it was covered for repairs)

And lastly, look at these figures. What in the world????